Attention Pathologists! New Prostate Cancer Test Has CPT Code, NCCN Guideline Recommendation, and Potential Market of One Million Prostate Biopsies Annually
OPKO Health’s 4Kscore test predicts the rate of high-risk prostate cancer and may become a useful business case study for other labs developing proprietary diagnostic tests
Clinical laboratories and biotech companies with new medical laboratory tests are struggling to win coverage by Medicare and private payers. How big is this problem? There are currently tens of thousands of molecular diagnostic assays and genetic tests offered for clinical use.
Any lab company seeking to obtain an appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, favorable coverage guidelines, and adequate reimbursement from health insurers for its new lab test faces three big challenges, and they are related. First, payers are simply overwhelmed with requests to review new genetic tests. The flood of new test submissions exceeds the capability of payers to respond.
Most Payers May Not Have Right Scientific Expertise to Evaluate Genetic Tests
Second, most health insurance plans lack physicians and medical professionals who have the necessary experience in laboratory medicine, molecular diagnostics, and genetic medicine to evaluate these lab test submissions in a knowledgeable way. (more…)